Unlike many dorky tech terms, the origins of bacn aren't especially apocryphal; we've got a real (electronic) paper trail. The term arose during a discussion at
Podcamp2 Pittsburgh
earlier in August and slipped onto my radar via Twitter
feeds from friends who were attending that conference--Fearless Cooking
video blogger Grace Piper, for example, who clarified that "steak" is e-mail you always want to read. Fellow video blog personality Bill Cammack
added that "FakinBacn" would refer to e-mail that's really spam but attempts to gussy itself up in the guise of bacn. Those video podcasters are a clever crowd.

It wasn't until a conversation with digital marketing strategist
Rachel Clarke
at last night's first-anniversary party
for gadget blog CrunchGear
when it occurred to me that bacn was deserving of a spot in the lexicon of trendy tech terms. Unfortunately, BuzzFeed
had already beaten me to the punch. Ouch.

So what do you think? Will this one make it to the dictionary or will it remain restricted to tongue-in-cheek use in geek circles?

Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos.

If we get Tom or Molly, or Jason or whoever the guest co-host is that day to mention it we made it. It would be nice to be mentioned on twit too. I mean I know Dvorak doesn't get spam, but I bet he gets BACN

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